Is there an optimum range of airtightness for a building?

Bomberg, Mark; Kisilewicz, Tomasz; Nowak, Katarzyna

doi:10.1177/1744259115603041

Cited by 23 publications

(22 citation statements)

References 22 publications

(23 reference statements)

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“…This type of solution can also be used in retrofitting buildings where there are no basements or water problems in the existing basements. In case of water seepage through the basement wall, one must excavate soil next to the building and provide exterior thermal insulation with drainge [19] and of course either water or air heat exchanger.…”

Section: Discussion On the Eahx Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As the selected technical charcteristics of EAHX represent a typical case allowing one to focus the analysis on efficiency of the EAHX solution and means of control and steering. The automatic control is necessary for the EQM technology as the exterior temperature changes combined with thermal mass of the building may cause more frequent switches between heating and cooling modes [19]. Figure 2 shows the lay-out of the pipes in both EAHX with temperature and humidity measurements made in one moment to highlight how instantaneous measuremnts may vary and where the vertical measurements of soil temperature were made.…”

Section: Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Alternative Methods For Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Zapala¹,

Bomberg²,

Dechnik³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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Growing popularity of smart and integrated buildings requires a review of methods to optimize the preheat of ventilation air. An integrated system permits using heat ex-changers located in the mechanical room or in the future even using an exterior wall as a heat exchanger. One may ask the question how does the earth-air heat exchanger (EAHX) technology fitts into this function. EAHX has many advantages but also has many unanswered questions. Some of the drawbacks are: a possible entry of radon gas, high humidity in the shoulder seasons as well as the need for two different air intake sources with a choice that depends on the actual weather conditions. While in winter, the EAHX may be used continuously to ensure thermal comfort, in other seasons, its operation must be automatically controlled. To generate the missing information about the EAHX technology we reviewed literature and examined two nearly identical EAHX systems, placed either in ground next to the building or under the basement slab. Effectively, the information provided in this paper, shows advantages of merging both these approaches while the EAHX shoud be placed under the house or near the basement foundation.

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Section: Discussion On the Eahx Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Experimental Set-upmentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Methods For Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Zapala¹,

Bomberg²,

Dechnik³

et al. 2019

Preprint

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Figure 12 shows the a difference between the inlet and outlet temperature of the EAHX and indicates the need for switching between the air source. As high level of thermal insulation, air barriers and weather stripping reduce the unintentional air exchange between outodor and indoor environmnts [23], opening windows as the means to deliver fresh air is not a viable option any more and low energy buildings require use of a hybrid ventilation. In turn one may require pre-conditioning of the ventilation air.…”

Section: Pro and Contra For Use Of Eahx Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…Elsewhere [23], we have discussed what criterion of air-tghtness should be set to permit significant role of natural (uncontrolled) air infiltration to the building. This obviously will decide upon the setting of the criteria for (a) and (b) as much as cost of installation and operation versus potential to save electrical energy.…”

Section: Pro and Contra For Use Of Eahx Technologymentioning

confidence: 99%

Alternative Methods for Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Romanska-Zapala¹,

Bomberg²,

Dechnik³

et al. 2019

Preprint

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In the pursuit of energy efficiency one has developed a complex technology of earth-air heat exchangers (EAHX). In this process, one discovered some drawbacks such as possible entry of radon gas or high humidity in the shoulder seasons. Elsewhere, we highlighted that when the outdoor temperature changes frequently, one needs using two different air intake sources with an automatic selection of the one more appropriate for the actual weather conditions. In winter, the EAHX may be used continually but in the other seasons, the selection should be performed by a steering/ control system. In this paper examined two nearly identical EAHX systems placed in the soil next to the building or under the basement slab. While there is an advantage in the under house placement, yet the advent of integrated system design permits replacing the EAHX by different heat exchangers located in the mechanical room (as it was done in a case study in NY) or in the exterior wall. In the latter case we propose an alternative system that permits using different ventilation patterns in summer and winter.

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“…As a result, international development went towards introducing high levels of shading that limits the contribution of solar energy. 1 During this 40-year period, however, the quest for a sustainable built environment brought dramatic changes in the process of residential construction. 2,3 While the work on development of new…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Discussion on the network for environmental quality management

Bomberg¹,

Romanska²,

Yarbrough³

et al. 2018

MOJCE

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construction materials has not changed, their evaluation is not the same as in the past. In the past materials have been evaluated on the basis of their physical properties. Today, the integrated design process looks at performance of a building as a system with materials interacting and contributing to the performance of the system. Effectively, even though our testing methodology is still based on comparing materials, we now focus on assembly performance. An assembly could for example be a wall or a ceiling-roof assembly. The ultimate objective of building physics (or building science) is to provide understanding and predictability in the process of design and construction for the sustainable built environment. The objective is to create harmony between the environment, society and economy. Sustainability involves different scales: country, region, city or individual building. The term "balanced buildings" meaning a building where each of the above scales is equally important. Reduced energy loads in PHs bring a paradigm of design that we will discuss in the following paper. Building physics tells us how to merge the passive house concepts with solar engineering and how to integrate the building shell with mechanical services. Unfortunately, building physics does not tell us how to integrate people with their environment. Therefore, we do not use the engineering terms like net zero or near zero buildings or even passive house plus. Instead, we introduce another term, namely: environmental quality management (EQM) to highlight that the occupant of the indoor space is the focus of our design. In doing so, the building physics will automatically include durability of the shell, energy efficiency and carbon emissions as they relate to the environment and issues such as indoor climate control with individual ventilation on demand (personal climate control).

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Is there an optimum range of airtightness for a building?

Cited by 23 publications

References 22 publications

Alternative Methods For Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Alternative Methods For Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Alternative Methods for Preheating Outdoor Ventilation Air

Discussion on the network for environmental quality management

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